New community football coach appointed at Inverurie

Stephen Boddie, kneeling, with mascots from Garioch Sports Centre, Locos and AFC Commuinity Trust and officials from various organisations involved in supporting the joint venture.

Published:12:45Monday 15 February 2016

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An innovative partnership involving Garioch Sports Trust, Inverurie Locos and the Aberdeen FC Community Trust has resulted in the appointment of a new community coach based in Inverurie.

Community Trust employee Stephen Boddie, who will be based at the Garioch centre, is tasked with the responsibility of increasing both the quantity and quality of football in the town and is relishing the

challenges ahead.

He said: “One of my initial tasks will be to create a full player pathway with all the clubs in the area and work with them to feed into the Locos, as the senior club in the vicinity.

“I’ll also be looking to raise the profile of Garioch Sports Centre which, in turn, will get more people

utilising the facilities, which of course are not just football.”

AFCCT senior community coach Steven Sweeney added: “We’re really excited about Stephen’s appointment which, if it is as successful as we are confident it will be, is one that could be repeated in other areas.

“Stephen will be looking to engage with groups that are perhaps harder to reach, as well as assisting Inverurie Locos to widen their community engagement and in essence, replicate the work the Trust undertakes in Aberdeen.”

Kevin Bonarius, general co-manager at Garioch Sports Centre, said: “This is a community role that we have been considering and planning for some time now. Stephen’s appointment in partnership with AFC Community Trust and ILWFC, is a first for Inverurie and is an exciting one for us and the wider community”.

An RGU Sport and Exercise Science graduate, Stephen, who lives in Oldmeldrum, has been involved as a community coach at Pittodrie since 2010.